Christine in Budapest, Hungry

Today we start with a geography lesson for you.  Budapest is actually two cities:  Buda and Pest.  The Danube River separates the cities.  The hills on the Buda side are the foothills of the Alps.  I actually climbed Gellert Hill to get a picture of a statue (you can kinda see it to middle below) and the Buda and Pest city views.  A king brought the monk, Gellert, to Budapest in year 1000, after he converted Hungry to Christianity.  Some rebellious Magyars did not care for the change, put the monk in a barrel, drove long nails in from the outside, and rolled him down the hill.  He is now the patron saint of Budapest.  He probably would have preferred anonymity and living then this legacy.  I'm just guessing at this point.  

Gellert Hill

And this is what the walked looked liked:

And as I approached the top, through the trees:

And then:

Yep, the tour buses will take you up the hill.  Who knew?  Apparently everyone but me.  It is good I enjoy walking.  Everywhere.  Behind the statue is Citadella.  This was used during WWII.

The view from up there

Pest, Hungry

The other side of the River (side I was standing on):

Buda, Castle Hill (see green dome in middle)

More after the jump...

I visited the castle as well.  There are 2 ways to get there.  I will let you determine which I did.

Incline up to Castle Hill

Walk up to Castle Hill

We, of course, bombed the castle during WWII.  In fact, the green dome, which the castle is known for, is not original to the castle.  It was added after WWII.  

View of Castle Hill (from Pest side)

Other attractions, beside the castle exist up there.  I especially love the tile roof of Matthias Church:

Budapest has the most beautiful Parliament I have ever seen.  The Parliament was built between 1885 and 1902.  It is a mirror image of itself, as you can see below.  I believe the legislation only occupies 1/8 of the building today.  Yeah, the empire was much bigger when the building was constructed.

Parliament from across the Danube River.

Opposite Danube River side.

Parliament side view of the building.

Close up of details.

If you reviewed my Vienna, Austria post, then you remember my discussing the emperor.  He financially contributed about 50 percent to this Opera House as well.  He just did not want it to be more grand than the one in Vienna.  (Of course not.)  I would say that you can certainly see similarities between the two.  I did not participate in the tour this time.  

Opera House

And now for the best part of Budapest.  The lovely city sports the first McDonald's in Eastern Europe, under the old Iron Curtain regime.  That's right.  The communists would line up and wait to eat at McDonald's.   

I, however, do not eat at McDonald's.  Ever.  Even for this distinction.  Instead, I ate:

I have no idea what it was called, but it was a caramel chocolate mouse heavenly dessert.  Loved it.  Lots.  I had many options.  This was the most difficult decision of the trip. 

One of the counters to choose from.  So many choices.  So hard.

I highly recommend Gerbeaud Cafe.  I should have ate all my meals there.  Live and learn.  

I did eat at Gundel Restaurant for lunch.  They kindly have a 3 course tasting menu for lunch.  I ate Smooth Venison Pate with piquant Micro Salad, Grilled smoked Round Chop of Pork with Horse Bean Stew, and Cottage Cheese Cake with Passion Fruit Jelly and Star Anise Honey.  I believe I read that it is considered one of the best restaurants in Eastern Europe.  President Clinton dined there.  Pope John Paul II ate their food as well (though I do not think he actually had to visit the restaurant).  Yeah, I keep good company.  Fancy places are just different.  Even the butter is fancy:

The restaurant, in case you never make it here:

The Communist liberated the Hungarians from the Nazis.  So there is a monument to the Soviet War Memorial.  It's the only place where the hammer and sickle is.  It is also fenced in, as it *may* be vandalized otherwise.  

The Hungarians like to honor people with statutes.  Lots and lots of statutes.  Some clever entrepreneur even took the soviet era statues and placed them in Monument (previously called Statue) Park.  I did not make it there as it was miles outside the city and no public transportation.  

I did, however, visit Heros' Square.  

War Statute, top, left side of middle column

Budapest was once ruled by the Ottoman.  So a few thermal spas exist.  Luckily, my hotel boasted one.  And use was included with the room.  As was breakfast.  Both of which I loved.  Especially since they had desserts, like chocolate cake, for breakfast.  But back to the baths.  (Hard to believe I hung out in them after eating cake for breakfast.  Wait, I don't care, so of course I went.  Multiple times.)  The Thermal Baths/Spa is segregated by men and women.  Except on Sundays-family day.  I agree- that the single men going to the women's bath is creepy.  If you don't have a girl with you, just go to the men's bath.  Each side has 2 baths, which they drain the baths daily.  One bath is at 36 degrees Celsius (97 degrees Fahrenheit) and one at 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit).  I preferred the 36 degrees Celsius.  Once again, there are no pictures of the baths.  But for good reason.  They are suit optional.  The hotel also had a couple of pools and a jacuzzi.  I spent my time in the baths.

Pool since there are no shots of the thermal baths.

Outside of Budapest, Hungry looks exactly like you thought a communist country would.  It is kinda grey looking.  The buildings are drab.  The street looks like it is falling apart.  Even the grass doesn't look green.  I didn't think to take any pictures there though.  Wish I had thought of it.  Oh well.  

Interestingly, there are 2 terminals for the airport. However, they are miles apart.  And strangely, not connected by train.  Terminal 1 (not the one I flew into) has a train into the city.  Terminal 2 is serviced by a bus.  So I took the bus from the airport to the Metro and the Metro into the city center.

I'll probably do another post with some pictures of the buildings.  They are gorgeous.  

Christine